May 1st, 2016
Last Results: London finished off the month and the road trip going 1-5, swept at Kentucky and downed 2-1 by lowly Nutmeggers.
Against the Dixie leading Thoroughbreds the Underground were never really in it but were never that far away either. Playing catch-up for the 4th innings in the opener they couldn’t just get close enough and finished one run short at the end. The second game marked the return of
Mark Lamb and although he marked his first start of 2016 with an RBI double and a run in the third innings, the Underground were back to playing catch-up after a four-run fourth by Kentucky. London showed their mettle by digging in and
Al Murdoch drove in
Nathan Carter in the eighth to tie the game at four. We went to extra-innings and Petersen’s double in the 12th sent London to their first extra-innings defeat of the season.
Hirosyuki Niireturned after missing just one start with his shoulder and pitched eight strong innings, walking none while striking out six. The final game once more saw London lose concentration at the end of a series and pick up a drubbing.
Cipriano Peña last one out into the sixth by which time London were five down and looking down and out. The Underground bullpen pitched two and two-thirds scoreless innings but the batters came up short with only two baserunners and
Decheng Wen’s solo homer to show for their efforts. Scott Morris made his first start of 2016 after returning from the D/L but looked rusty in a 1 for 4 effort.
The Underground went to the Nutmeggers looking to snap the four-game losing streak and get back to winning ways, after all they had swept Connecticut in the 2016 opening series, but it didn’t quite go to plan. Wen was the headline grabber in London’s 6-1 series opener win hitting two out of the park just shading
Miguel Rosa who pitched a complete game giving up three hits, walking one and striking out four.
George Worley also impressed with his second homer, a three run shot in the ninth, in as many starts. Despite getting on the board first in the second game London fell 3-1 one behind after Nutmeggers notched three runs in the second innings off
Milard Wooten. London just couldn’t peg the home side back and went down by one run (5-4) for the third time in the week. Lamb continued to impress with his first homer of the season and a final tally of two runs, two hits, two RBI’s and two walks while Morris was poor in a 0-5 day. It became for one-run losses in the week next day when the Underground lost 4-3 to Connecticut.
Augusto Torres left after a good seven inning outing, giving up just three runs and two walks while striking out eight but with the game tied at three.
Ken Cates though picked up his first loss of the season as he gave up the winning run in the eighth. The Underground only registered six hits but three of them were doubles as London reached 61 two-baggers for the season, Wen being responsible for a team leading ten of them.
Next Up: After the Underground (15-10) slip to third they return home to host four against the Pan-Atlantic joint leaders Arlington (17-7) and follow that up with three games against the bottom team in Dixie, the 10-16 West Virginia Alleghenies.
Transactions: No movement in the majors after an injury free week but Burgos may well see more time at third as Morris returns and hits just once in nine AB’s. Down in the minors top prospect
Lorenzo Valenzuela played his first six games at A-Ball Dover but hit just .048 as he was bothered by back spasms and has now headed for the D/L as has Montreal catcher
Duane Schmitt who has suffered a sprained ankle. 23-year-old catcher
Danny Jones will head for Dover to cover
Masujiro Watanabe who heads for Double-A Montreal. Masujiro hit .167 during five games at Montreal in 2015 while Danny tastes A-Ball for the first time after two seasons in Maui.
Sixto De Jesús after hitting .309 in his first pro season in Maui heads for Dover to patrol leftfield.
Johnny English Watch: James Tinker is rapidly establishing himself as Montreal’s starting second baseman. He still has three homers but has a .306 / .375 / .639 slash line now with seven runs scored and eight driven in.
James Kennedy has appeared in his first two pro games at Dover, pitching 4.1 innings giving up four hits (two of them homers), walking none and striking out two with a 6.23 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP.
Lamb, impressive in his first week off the D/L
Reasons to be Cheerful : Although a 1-5 week looks bad four of the defeats were by a single run and most people would back London to bounce back in their upcoming seven game homestand. Mark Lamb made a successful comeback from the D/L hitting .462 in his first week back with one homer and three RBI’s. All five rotation members still are pitching well and the bullpen is commanding form with three members having an ERA below 1.80. Worcester (16-10) still lead the way in their Triple-A division while Montreal has returned to .500 with a 13-13 record. Montreal first Baseman
Dwight Thompson picked up the Canadian Alliance player of the week honours after batting .448 for the week with three homers, 16 RBI’s and scoring six times. He is hitting .278 / .314 / .443 for 2016 with 20 RBI’s and is disappointed to find himself back in Double-A after hitting .319 in Worcester in 2015 but was forced back by the duo of
Leonard Ramsey &
Joe Buchanan claiming the roster spots.
Reasons to Worry : Scott Morris has a way to go to regain his rookie form of 2015 and the lack of power throughout the team. Although Wen hit three homers last week the team still relies more on Wen, Rohr and the Carters to hit doubles. If the team is to better last season’s impressive form the power boys must start their bats on a consistent basis.